Many end-users, such as businesses, obtain access to the Internet through an intermediate service provider. Typically, the service provider provides a connection, referred to as a “pipe,” to an end-user in exchange for payment. The cost of the pipe typically varies depending upon the size of the pipe (i.e., the bandwidth).
A service provider often provides an end-user, referred to herein as a customer, with a single pipe and all of the customer's traffic is handled the same within the pipe. However, the customer may have different types of traffic such as voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) traffic, virtual private network (VPN) traffic, Internet traffic (e.g., web browsing), etc., which have different priorities. For example, the customer may prefer that the VoIP traffic be given a higher priority than the Internet traffic. Some customers may even wish to dedicate a portion of the available bandwidth to each type of traffic. The “guaranteed” rate that results from dedicating a portion of the available bandwidth to a traffic type is often referred to as a “committed rate” for the traffic type. Customers also prefer that unused bandwidth be distributed to the customer's other traffic according to a designated priority order.
In view of the desire to meet the needs of customers, what is needed is a technique for managing a customer's traffic that is sensitive to the customer's different traffic types.